Jentry Nielsen Nursing 2000 2/19/2013 Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) defines patient-centered care

as the ability to "recognize the patient or designee as the source of control and full partner in providing compassionate and coordinated care based on respect for patients preferences, values, and needs." One area that real ly caught my attention was when it discussed the knowledge of how safety, quality and cost effectiveness of health care can be improved through active patient and family involvement. I never really thought of how much patient, as well as family involvement can help you as the nurse do your job more effectively. Another point that I never thought of with this was how if you as the nurse know any barriers that may alter patient involvement in their own health care and having the skills to remove these barriers or having their families assist in these cases will help to improve effectiveness of health care. This made me think of a situation I faced with a patient who was aphasic and doing a physical assessment on her was a little more difficult, also because she continued to fall asleep during the assessment while I was trying to get any bit of information out of her. Luckily her sister lived in the same room at the facility so she was an extreme amount of help in filling in any blanks to supply me with all the information I need to improve her health care assessment, as well as finding interventions regarding tissue integrity risks for the patient. The QSEN also added that the importance of having the right attitude and value the active partnership with your patients and their families in planning, executing and evaluating care. Knowing the importance of the patients and families roles in their plan of care can not only help you to do your job better, but can focus on the patient more individually as to improve their quality of care.